Dungeon Diver: Stealing a Monster's Power

Chapter 16

I got breakfast at a local shop and made my way over to the merchant's stand.

"Hey old man, I need 4 MP and 4 HP potions today. Plus a small carrying pouch for my waist if you've got one."

I placed the 8 silver on the counter. The merchant looked at me with an eyebrow raised as he rummaged through some drawers.

"Big fight today?"

He placed 4 pink, and 4 light green glowing bottles on the counter next to a small black pouch.

I shoved them all in the pouch and tied it around my waist, then turned and waved.

"Thanks old man, see ya soon."

"See ya kid, careful out there today!"

I made it to the dungeon entrance, it was a bit less crowded today. There were a few teams talking and waiting out front but I paid them no mind. I walked straight ahead to enter the dungeon... it's now or never.

Once I entered the desert wasteland it felt more empty than usual, but it was just my imagination. I headed straight towards the back of the dungeon, wasting as little energy as possible.

I came across 3 wolves on my 2 hour walk. I assumed this would be the case, my MP is was depleted to 200/285. I've become even more efficient with my MP usage, I'll wait until it gets lower to refuel.

I made it to the light grey spinning portal. It's time.

I took a deep breath in through my nose and out my mouth. I jumped in.

I was alone in the boss room. No way to escape. It's either I kill the boss... or it kills me.

Next thing I knew, 8 large wolves came creeping towards me. This is the first wave, I need to act fast before the boss comes out.

I sprinted in and with a swift swing of my blade, waving my way through the wolf pack. About 20 seconds later they were all on the floor bleeding out. I stood there for a moment admiring my work while keeping an eye on my MP. It dropped to 140/285. I'll have to keep this window open for most of my battle with the boss.

Then the room went deathly silent. I could feel a superior being's presence.

"RUUUUUUAAAAAARRRRRAAA!"

Flames burst out from the back of the cave. I jumped back and gripped my sword.

The beast emerged. Standing over 5m tall, flaming from the arms and legs... the wolf man towered over me and showed its teeth.

It charged forward. In this moment I could tell it was slower than me. The only problem was its fire power... literally.

I sprinted to the right to avoid a full frontal attack, that would only end badly for me. It was focused forward, I lunged in to attack one of its legs.

To my surprise, it was a hit! I grinned ear to ear as I sprinted past the monster. When I got a safe distance away I looked back and the smile left my face.

I had hit.. but to the beast it was no more than a small wound on its leg. Maybe 5% of its HP if I was lucky... I froze for a moment in awe. This gave the wolf man enough time to counter with a flaming fist. As the fist drew near it registered in my peripherals and I jumped away from its trajectory as best I could.

Unfortunately the attack still hit me. The whole left side of my torso had been singed through my shirt and I was blasted back into the depths of the cave about 15m.

I quickly got to my feet checking my status while chugging both MP and HP potions. My side was dripping with blood, it hurt really bad. My MP had fallen to 100/285, and my HP fell to 55/285 in just a single hit...